Legal claims defining the scope of protection. Each claim is shown in both the original legal language and a plain English translation.
1. A serial advanced technology attachment (SATA) disk drive identification method for individually identifying a daisy-chained data storage architecture extension system comprising a pass-thru disk drive controller (PTDDC), said PTDDC further comprising: (a) pass-thru input (PTI) port; (b) disk drive interface (DDI) port; and (c) pass-thru output (PTO) port; wherein said PTI port, said DDI port, and said PTO port are SATA interfaces; said PTDDC is configured to connect a plurality of PTDDCs to form a serial daisy-chain by only interconnecting the PTO port of one PTDDC to the PTI port of another PTDDC in said daisy-chain; said PTDDC is configured to present a continuous logical block address space via said PTI port comprising disk drives electrically connected to PTDDCs in said daisy-chain; said PTDDC is configured to receive disk drive data access command (DDDAC) input via said PTI port; said PTDDC is configured to translate said DDDAC and electrically transmit said translation via said DDI port in a form suitable for use by any attached and logically addressed disk drive electrically connected to said DDI port; said PTDDC determines when said DDDAC falls within the logical block address (LBA) range of said attached disk drive, and if so, passes said DDDAC to said attached disk drive after modifying said DDDAC to account for said LBA range mapped by said attached disk drive; said PTDDC determines when said DDDAC falls within said LBA range of said attached disk drive, and if not, said DDDAC is passed via said PTO port to the PTI port of any daisy-chained PTDDC attached to said PTDDC PTO port; and said PTDDC logically connects said DDI port from said attached disk drive with said PTI port to pass-thru data transfers requested by said DDDAC to/from said attached disk drive and said PTI port; wherein said method further comprises the steps of: (1) storing a unique electronic serial number (ESN) within said PTDDC via the steps of: (a) issuing a DRIVE RESET command via a host bus adapter (HBA) to the first PTDDC in said PTDDC serial daisy-chain; (b) propagating said DRIVE RESET command through all PTDDCs in said PTDDC daisy-chain; (c) setting a local PTDDC_ADR variable only within said PTDDC configured to increment that is maintained within each PTDDC in said serial daisy-chain to a value of zero in response to said DRIVE RESET command; (d) issuing an IDENTIFY DEVICE command to said PTDDC daisy-chain via said HBA; (e) determining when a PTDDC within said PTDDC serial daisy chain receiving said IDENTIFY DEVICE command has a local PTDDC_ADR variable that is equal to a value of zero, and if so, proceeding to step (h); (f) sending said IDENTIFY DEVICE command to the current PTDDC in said PTDDC daisy-chain; (g) returning data from the current PTDDC in said PTDDC daisy-chain and incrementing the value of said PTDDC_ADR local variable within said current PTDDC; (h) determining when the first PTDDC receiving said IDENTIFY DEVICE command indicates the value of said local PTDDC_ADR variable is zero, then issuing said IDENTIFY DEVICE command to any disk drive attached to said first PTDDC, and incrementing said PTDDC_ADR local variable; (i) passing control to said step (d) until PTDDCs searching is completed; and (2) configuring said PTDDC to enable said ESN to be readable via said PTI port.
A method for identifying SATA disk drives connected in a daisy-chain configuration using a pass-thru disk drive controller (PTDDC). Each PTDDC has a pass-thru input (PTI) port, a disk drive interface (DDI) port, and a pass-thru output (PTO) port, all using SATA interfaces. The PTDDCs are daisy-chained by connecting the PTO of one to the PTI of the next. The PTDDC presents a single, continuous address space to the host. The method involves assigning each PTDDC a unique electronic serial number (ESN) and making it readable. The identification process includes issuing a DRIVE RESET command to clear the chain, then assigning each PTDDC an address (PTDDC_ADR). An IDENTIFY DEVICE command is then used to retrieve the ESN of each PTDDC and the drives attached to them by iterating through each PTDDC in the chain.
2. The SATA disk drive identification method of claim 1 wherein said ESN comprises a unique electronic text field to indicate that said text field is associated with a PTDDC.
The SATA disk drive identification method from the previous description includes a unique electronic serial number (ESN) within each PTDDC, where the ESN is a text field that indicates the data relates to a PTDDC, for example including the text "PTDDC" or similar identification tag. This allows software to easily distinguish PTDDC serial numbers from standard disk drive serial numbers.
3. The SATA disk drive identification method of claim 1 wherein said steps further comprise modifying results in a SATA IDENTIFY DEVICE command response by said PTDDC to return said ESN information within a SATA DISK DRIVE MODEL NUMBER data field via said command response.
The SATA disk drive identification method from the initial description involves modifying the standard SATA IDENTIFY DEVICE command response. The PTDDC returns its unique electronic serial number (ESN) within the "DISK DRIVE MODEL NUMBER" data field of the command response, allowing software to retrieve the PTDDC's serial number using standard SATA commands.
4. The SATA disk drive identification method of claim 1 wherein said steps further comprise modifying results in words 27-46 of a SATA IDENTIFY DEVICE command response by said PTDDC to return said ESN information within a SATA DISK DRIVE MODEL NUMBER data field via said command response.
The SATA disk drive identification method from the initial description involves modifying the standard SATA IDENTIFY DEVICE command response. Specifically, words 27-46 of the response (which represent the "DISK DRIVE MODEL NUMBER" field) contain the unique electronic serial number (ESN) of the PTDDC, allowing standard SATA commands to retrieve the serial number from that specific memory location.
5. The SATA disk drive identification method of claim 1 wherein said steps further comprise modifying results in words 10-19 of a SATA IDENTIFY DEVICE command response by said PTDDC to return said ESN information within a SATA DISK DRIVE SERIAL NUMBER data field via said command response.
The SATA disk drive identification method from the initial description involves modifying the standard SATA IDENTIFY DEVICE command response. Specifically, words 10-19 of the response (which represent the "DISK DRIVE SERIAL NUMBER" field) contain the unique electronic serial number (ESN) of the PTDDC, allowing standard SATA commands to retrieve the serial number from that specific memory location.
6. The SATA disk drive identification method of claim 1 wherein said steps further comprise modifying results in a SATA IDENTIFY DEVICE command response by said PTDDC to return said ESN information within a SATA DISK DRIVE SERIAL NUMBER data field via said command response.
The SATA disk drive identification method from the initial description involves modifying the standard SATA IDENTIFY DEVICE command response. The PTDDC returns its unique electronic serial number (ESN) within the "DISK DRIVE SERIAL NUMBER" data field of the command response, allowing software to retrieve the PTDDC's serial number using standard SATA commands.
7. The SATA disk drive identification method of claim 1 wherein said steps further comprise issuing a RESET DEVICE command to said PTDDC to initialize state machine logic within said PTDDC such that a subsequent IDENTIFY DEVICE command received by said PTDDC retrieves disk drive information normally including a model number and serial number.
The SATA disk drive identification method from the initial description includes issuing a RESET DEVICE command to the PTDDC before issuing the IDENTIFY DEVICE command. This initializes the PTDDC's internal state, ensuring that the subsequent IDENTIFY DEVICE command retrieves the correct disk drive information, including model and serial numbers of the drive attached to the DDI port.
8. The SATA disk drive identification method of claim 1 wherein said steps further comprise issuing a RESET DEVICE command to said PTDDC followed by subsequent IDENTIFY DEVICE commands to said PTDDC to retrieve disk drive information for a disk drive connected to said DDI port and data from local memory of said PTDDC.
The SATA disk drive identification method from the initial description includes issuing a RESET DEVICE command to the PTDDC followed by subsequent IDENTIFY DEVICE commands. This allows retrieval of both the disk drive information (model/serial number) connected to the DDI port and data stored in the PTDDC's local memory, enabling access to both device and controller information.
9. The SATA disk drive identification method of claim 1 wherein said steps further comprise presenting said ESN to said PTI port in response to a phantom protocol request presented to said PTDDC.
The SATA disk drive identification method from the initial description involves presenting the ESN (unique electronic serial number) through the PTI port in response to a "phantom protocol request". This means a special, non-standard command is sent to the PTDDC, triggering it to output its ESN.
10. The SATA disk drive identification method of claim 1 wherein said steps further comprise presenting said ESN to said PTI port in response to a phantom protocol request presented to said PTDDC that is associated with a sector address of a SATA disk drive attached to said DDI port.
The SATA disk drive identification method from the initial description involves presenting the ESN (unique electronic serial number) through the PTI port in response to a "phantom protocol request" associated with a specific sector address of the SATA disk drive attached to the DDI port. This allows retrieval of the ESN by sending a special, non-standard command targeted at a specific location on the disk.
11. The SATA disk drive identification method of claim 1 wherein said steps further comprise writing said ESN to said PTDDC by writing memory within said PTDDC and subsequently writing a memory bit within said PTDDC to lock said ESN within said PTDDC.
The SATA disk drive identification method from the initial description involves writing the ESN (unique electronic serial number) to the PTDDC's memory and then setting a "lock bit" within the PTDDC. This prevents accidental modification of the ESN, ensuring its persistence.
12. The SATA disk drive identification method of claim 1 wherein said steps further comprise issuing a “DRIVE RESET” command to said PTDDC serial daisy-chain to clear a lock bit used to prevent writing memory within said PTDDC.
The SATA disk drive identification method from the initial description involves issuing a "DRIVE RESET" command to the PTDDC daisy-chain to clear a lock bit used to prevent writing memory within the PTDDC. This allows the ESN to be updated or changed if necessary.
13. A serial advanced technology attachment (SATA) disk drive identification method for individually identifying a daisy-chained data storage architecture extension system comprising a pass-thru disk drive controller (PTDDC), said PTDDC further comprising: (a) pass-thru input (PTI) port; (b) disk drive interface (DDI) port; and (c) pass-thru output (PTO) port; wherein said PTI port, said DDI port, and said PTO port are SATA interfaces; said PTDDC is configured to connect a plurality of PTDDCs to form a serial daisy-chain by only interconnecting the PTO port of one PTDDC to the PTI port of another PTDDC in said daisy-chain; said PTDDC is configured to present a continuous logical block address space via said PTI port comprising disk drives electrically connected to PTDDCs in said daisy-chain; said PTDDC is configured to receive disk drive data access command (DDDAC) input via said PTI port; said PTDDC is configured to translate said DDDAC and electrically transmit said translation via said DDI port in a form suitable for use by any attached and logically addressed disk drive electrically connected to said DDI port; said PTDDC determines when said DDDAC falls within the logical block address (LBA) range of said attached disk drive, and if so, passes said DDDAC to said attached disk drive after modifying said DDDAC to account for said LBA range mapped by said attached disk drive; said PTDDC determines when said DDDAC falls within said LBA range of said attached disk drive, and if not, said DDDAC is passed via said PTO port to the PTI port of any daisy-chained PTDDC attached to said PTDDC PTO port; and said PTDDC logically connects said DDI port from said attached disk drive with said PTI port to pass-thru data transfers requested by said DDDAC to/from said attached disk drive and said PTI port; wherein said method further comprises the steps of: (1) issuing a DRIVE RESET command via a host bus adapter (HBA) to the first PTDDC in said PTDDC serial daisy-chain; (2) propagating said DRIVE RESET command through all PTDDCs in said PTDDC daisy-chain; (3) setting a local PTDDC_ADR variable only within said PTDDC configured to increment that is maintained within each PTDDC in said serial daisy-chain to a value of zero in response to said DRIVE RESET command; (4) issuing an IDENTIFY DEVICE command to said PTDDC daisy-chain; (5) determining when a PTDDC within said PTDDC serial daisy chain receiving said IDENTIFY DEVICE command has a PTDDC_ADR variable that is equal to a value of zero, and if so, proceeding to step (8); (6) sending said IDENTIFY DEVICE command to the current PTDDC in said PTDDC daisy-chain; (7) returning data from the current PTDDC in said PTDDC daisy-chain and incrementing the value of said PTDDC_ADR variable within said current PTDDC; (8) determining when the first PTDDC receiving said IDENTIFY DEVICE command indicates the value of said PTDDC_ADR is zero, then issuing said IDENTIFY DEVICE command to any disk drive attached to said first PTDDC, and incrementing said PTDDC_ADR variable; (9) passing control to said step (4) until PTDDCs searching is completed.
A method for identifying SATA disk drives connected in a daisy-chain configuration using a pass-thru disk drive controller (PTDDC). Each PTDDC has a pass-thru input (PTI) port, a disk drive interface (DDI) port, and a pass-thru output (PTO) port, all using SATA interfaces. The PTDDCs are daisy-chained by connecting the PTO of one to the PTI of the next. The PTDDC presents a single, continuous address space to the host. The identification process includes issuing a DRIVE RESET command to clear the chain, then assigning each PTDDC an address (PTDDC_ADR). An IDENTIFY DEVICE command is then used to identify drives attached to each PTDDC by iterating through each PTDDC in the chain.
14. The SATA disk drive identification method of claim 13 wherein the response to said IDENTIFY DEVICE command comprises drive model number information on said SATA disk.
The SATA disk drive identification method from the previous description means the response to the IDENTIFY DEVICE command will include the SATA disk drive model number for each identified drive.
15. The SATA disk drive identification method of claim 13 wherein the response to said IDENTIFY DEVICE command response comprises drive serial number information on said SATA disk.
The SATA disk drive identification method from the previous description means the response to the IDENTIFY DEVICE command will include the SATA disk drive serial number for each identified drive.
16. The SATA disk drive identification method of claim 13 wherein the response to said IDENTIFY DEVICE command is configured to uniquely identify said SATA disk drive.
The SATA disk drive identification method from the previous description means the response to the IDENTIFY DEVICE command will uniquely identify each SATA disk drive in the daisy chain.
17. A serial advanced technology attachment (SATA) disk drive identification method for individually identifying a daisy-chained data storage architecture extension system comprising a pass-thru disk drive controller (PTDDC), said PTDDC further comprising: (a) pass-thru input (PTI) port; (b) disk drive interface (DDI) port; and (c) pass-thru output (PTO) port; wherein said PTI port, said DDI port, and said PTO port are SATA interfaces; said PTDDC is configured to connect a plurality of PTDDCs to form a serial daisy-chain by only interconnecting the PTO port of one PTDDC to the PTI port of another PTDDC in said daisy-chain; said PTDDC is configured to present a continuous logical block address space via said PTI port comprising disk drives electrically connected to PTDDCs in said daisy-chain; said PTDDC is configured to receive disk drive data access command (DDDAC) input via said PTI port; said PTDDC is configured to translate said DDDAC and electrically transmit said translation via said DDI port in a form suitable for use by any attached and logically addressed disk drive electrically connected to said DDI port; said PTDDC determines when said DDDAC falls within the logical block address (LBA) range of said attached disk drive, and if so, passes said DDDAC to said attached disk drive after modifying said DDDAC to account for said LBA range mapped by said attached disk drive; said PTDDC determines when said DDDAC falls within said LBA range of said attached disk drive, and if not, said DDDAC is passed via said PTO port to the PTI port of any daisy-chained PTDDC attached to said PTDDC PTO port; and said PTDDC logically connects said DDI port from said attached disk drive with said PTI port to pass-thru data transfers requested by said DDDAC to/from said attached disk drive and said PTI port; wherein said method further comprises the steps of: (1) issuing a DRIVE RESET command to the first PTDDC in said PTDDC serial daisy-chain; (2) issuing a MATCH DEVICE command to said PTDDC daisy-chain; (3) sending a MATCH ID data block through all chained PTDDCs in said PTDDC serial daisy-chain; (4) receive said MATCH ID data block by all PTDDCs within said PTDDC serial daisy-chain; (5) send an IDENTIFY DEVICE command to all PTDDC attached disk drives within said PTDDC serial daisy-chain; (6) comparing said MATCH ID block to a previously incremented PTDDC_ADR variable within said PTDDC; (7) determining when said MATCH ID block does not match said previously incremented PTDDC_ADR variable, and if so, setting a local variable PTDDC_CMD within said PTDDC to a value of 0, otherwise setting said local variable PTDDC_CMD within said PTDD to a value of 1; (8) sending a disk drive command to the PTDDC serial daisy-chain via a host bus adapter (HBA); (9) determining when said local PTDDC_CMD variable within a PTDDC is not equal to a value of 1, and if so, proceeding to step (11); (10) passing said disk drive command to a PTDDC locally attached disk drive and proceeding to step (12); (11) passing said disk drive command to the next PTDDC in said daisy-chain; (12) terminating the SATA disk drive identification method.
A method for identifying SATA disk drives connected in a daisy-chain configuration using a pass-thru disk drive controller (PTDDC). Each PTDDC has a pass-thru input (PTI) port, a disk drive interface (DDI) port, and a pass-thru output (PTO) port, all using SATA interfaces. The PTDDCs are daisy-chained by connecting the PTO of one to the PTI of the next. The PTDDC presents a single, continuous address space to the host. The method uses a "MATCH DEVICE" command. The process involves sending a "DRIVE RESET" command, then a "MATCH DEVICE" command with a "MATCH ID" data block through the chain. Each PTDDC compares this "MATCH ID" to its own address (PTDDC_ADR). If there's no match, it sets an internal flag (PTDDC_CMD) to 0. A subsequent disk drive command is then passed to the locally attached disk drive only if the flag is 1; otherwise, the command is passed to the next PTDDC.
18. The SATA disk drive identification method of claim 17 wherein said MATCH ID block is the concatenation of a DISK DRIVE MODEL NUMBER and a DISK DRIVE SERIAL NUMBER.
The SATA disk drive identification method from the previous description uses a "MATCH ID" block which is a combination (concatenation) of the DISK DRIVE MODEL NUMBER and DISK DRIVE SERIAL NUMBER of the attached disk.
19. The SATA disk drive identification method of claim 17 wherein said MATCH ID is configured to uniquely identify said SATA disk drive.
The SATA disk drive identification method from the previous description uses a "MATCH ID" which is specifically designed to uniquely identify the attached SATA disk drive.
20. The SATA disk drive identification method of claim 17 wherein step (5) uses an internal copy of said MATCH ID information from a previously executed IDENTIFY DEVICE command.
The SATA disk drive identification method from the previous description uses an internal copy of the MATCH ID information, obtained from a previous execution of the IDENTIFY DEVICE command, to optimize the identification process.
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December 16, 2014
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